The 2015 season was the New York Jets' 46th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 56th overall. The team improved on their 4–12 record in 2014 under former head Coach Rex Ryan. Under new head coach Todd Bowles, they succeeded in matching their previous season’s win count in just five games, starting 4–1. Prior to the season, the Jets made a number of moves, including, re-acquiring Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, two cornerbacks who were instrumental in the Jets previous defensive success, and obtaining Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brandon Marshall in trades. The team regressed to 5–5, before going on a five-game winning streak, clinching their first winning season since 2010. However, it wasn't enough to make the playoffs, as they lost to the Buffalo Bills in Week 17 and the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers, who also finished 10–6, clinched the final AFC playoff spot over the Jets based on a better record vs. common opponents. The Jets finished the season as the league's only team with a winning record to not make the playoffs, and as of 2025, this was the last Jets team to post a winning record. This was also tied with the 2020 Miami Dolphins season as the closest quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick came to making the playoffs in his 17-year career.

Transactions

Coaching and staff personnel changes The Jets fired general manager John Idzik and head coach Rex Ryan on December 29, 2014. Offensive line coach Mike Devlin left the Jets to accept the same position with the Houston Texans on January 9, 2015. The Jets hired Mike Maccagnan as general manager on January 13, 2015. The Jets hired Todd Bowles as head coach on January 14, 2015. Jets defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman, defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, linebackers coach Bobby April III, defensive backs coach Tim McDonald, assistant defensive line coach Jeff Weeks, and assistant strength and conditioning coach Jason Oszvart were hired to the same positions by the Buffalo Bills on January 15, 2015. Offensive assistant Tony Sparano Jr. was named tight ends coach on January 15 by the Bills. Quarterbacks coach David Lee was hired by the Buffalo Bills for the same position on January 19, 2015. The Jets hired Chan Gailey as offensive coordinator on January 20, 2015. The Jets hired Kacy Rodgers as defensive coordinator, Bobby April as special teams coordinator, Mike Caldwell as the assistant head coach/inside linebackers coach, Mark Collins as the outside linebackers coach, Joe Danna as the defensive backs coach, Karl Dorrell as the wide receivers coach, and Robby Brown as an offensive quality control coach on January 23, 2015. The Jets hired Pepper Johnson as the defensive line coach on January 24, 2015. The Jets hired Brian Heimerdinger as director of player personnel on January 27, 2015. The Jets hired Steve Marshall as offensive line coach, Marcel Shipp as running backs coach and Kevin Patullo as quarterbacks coach on January 27, 2015. The Jets hired Rex Hogan as senior director of college scouting on January 29, 2015. The Jets hired Jimmie Johnson as tight ends coach, Daylon McCutcheon as assistant defensive backs coach, and Ryan Slowik as assistant defensive line/defensive quality control coach on January 29, 2015. The Jets named Ron Heller as assistant offensive line coach and Steve Hagen as assistant special teams coach on February 3, 2015. The Jets hired John Scott, Jr. as a defensive quality control coach on February 11, 2015. The Jets fired director of pro personnel Brendan Prophett on May 4, 2015.

Arrivals The Jets signed Andrew Furney, Mario Harvey, Keith Lewis, Dashaun Phillips, Brent Qvale, Daryl Richardson, Jake Schum and Chris Young to reserve/future contracts on December 30, 2014. The Jets signed Sean Hooey to a reserve/future contract on January 24, 2015. The Jets signed Curtis Brown on February 10, 2015. The Jets signed Ronald Talley on March 4, 2015. The Jets signed Buster Skrine, Darrelle Revis and James Carpenter on March 11, 2015. The Jets signed Antonio Cromartie and Marcus Gilchrist on March 18, 2015. The Jets signed James Brewer on March 19, 2015. The Jets signed Kevin Vickerson, Stephen Bowen and Corey Hilliard on March 24, 2015. The Jets signed Kellen Davis on March 25, 2015. The Jets signed Jamari Lattimore on April 1, 2015. The Jets signed Erin Henderson on April 8, 2015. The Jets signed Stevan Ridley and Joe Mays on April 13, 2015. The Jets signed Julian Howsare, Greg Henderson, Jordan Williams, Durell Eskridge, Davon Walls, Demarkus Perkins, Wes Saxton, Taiwan Jones, and Deion Barnes on May 8, 2015. The Jets signed Jake Heaps and J. C. Copeland on May 11, 2015. The Jets signed Jonathon Rumph on June 1, 2015. The Jets signed Charles Brown on June 12, 2015. The Jets signed Steve Maneri on June 15, 2015. The Jets signed Austin Hill on July 28, 2015. The Jets signed Jarrod West on August 2, 2015. The Jets signed Arthur Williams on August 4, 2015. The Jets signed Keon Lyn on August 7, 2015. The Jets signed Javier Arenas on August 11, 2015. The Jets claimed Arthur Lynch off waivers on August 18, 2015. The Jets signed Matt Flynn on August 19, 2015. The Jets signed Matt LaCosse on August 24, 2015. The Jets signed Bryan Johnson on August 25, 2015. The Jets signed Josh Johnson on August 27, 2015. The Jets signed Ronald Martin and Chris Owusu on September 6, 2015. The Jets signed Deion Barnes, Julian Howsare, Wesley Johnson, Taiwan Jones, Keon Lyn, Walt Powell, Wes Saxton and Jordan Williams to the practice squad on September 6, 2015. The Jets signed Rontez Miles to the Practice Squad on September 7, 2015.

Departures The Jets released Percy Harvin on March 10, 2015. The Jets released Chris Pantale, Chris Young, and Mario Harvey and Corey Hilliard retired on May 8, 2015. The Jets released Demarkus Perkins and Greg Henderson on May 11, 2015. The Jets released Matt Simms on May 28, 2015. The Jets released Sean Hooey on June 11, 2015. The Jets released Andrew Furney on July 28, 2015. The Jets released J. C. Copeland on August 1, 2015. The Jets released Jarrod West on August 4, 2015. The Jets waived Antonio Allen on August 7, 2015. The Jets released Ikemefuna Enemkpali on August 11, 2015. The Jets released Jake Schum on August 18, 2015. The Jets waived Arthur Williams on August 19, 2015. The Jets waived Davon Walls on August 24, 2015. The Jets released Steve Maneri on August 25, 2015. The Jets released Jake Heaps on August 27, 2015. The Jets released Javier Arenas, James Brewer, Curtis Brown, Dalton Freeman, T. J. Graham, Saalim Hakim, Austin Hill, Bryan Johnson, Matt LaCosse, Keith Lewis, DeVier Posey and Jonathon Rumph on August 30, 2015. The Jets waived Dashaun Phillips on September 1, 2015. The Jets released Jason Babin, Deion Barnes, Charles Brown, Durell Eskridge, Shaquelle Evans, Matt Flynn, Julian Howsare, Josh Johnson, Wesley Johnson, Taiwan Jones, Keon Lyn, Arthur Lynch, Joe Mays, Walt Powell, Chris Owusu, Daryl Richardson, Wes Saxton, Ronald Talley and Jordan Williams on September 5, 2015. The Jets waived Rontez Miles on September 6, 2015. The Jets waived Oday Aboushi on September 15, 2015. The Jets released Kevin Vickerson on September 16, 2015. The Jets waived Quinton Coples on November 23, 2015.

Trades

To Jets The Chicago Bears traded Brandon Marshall and a 2015 seventh round (224th overall) draft pick to the Jets for New York's 2015 fifth round (142nd overall) draft pick on March 10, 2015. The Houston Texans traded Ryan Fitzpatrick to the Jets for a 2016 late-round conditional draft pick on March 11, 2015. The Houston Texans traded DeVier Posey and their 2015 third round (82nd overall), fifth round (152nd overall), and seventh round (229th overall) draft picks to the Jets for New York's 2015 third round (70th overall) draft pick on May 1, 2015. The St. Louis Rams traded Zac Stacy to the Jets for New York's 2015 seventh round (224th overall) pick on May 2, 2015.

From Jets The Jets traded their 2015 fourth round (104th overall) and seventh round (224th overall) draft picks to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Jacksonville's 2015 fourth round (103rd overall) draft pick on May 2, 2015.

Free agents Position Player Free agencytag Date signed/released 2015 team Notes CB Phillip Adams UFA March 12, 2015 Atlanta Falcons LB Nick Bellore UFA April 3, 2015 San Francisco 49ers G Willie Colon UFA March 12, 2015 New York Jets FB John Conner UFA May 13, 2015 Buffalo Bills LB Jermaine Cunningham UFA – – – DE Leger Douzable UFA April 8, 2015 New York Jets NT Kenrick Ellis UFA March 18, 2015 New York Giants LB David Harris UFA March 6, 2015 New York Jets NT Damon Harrison RFA April 29, 2015 New York Jets OT Ben Ijalana UFA April 1, 2015 New York Jets S Jaiquawn Jarrett ERFA April 24, 2015 New York Jets RB Chris Johnson UFA August 17, 2015 Arizona Cardinals S Dawan Landry UFA – – – RB Bilal Powell UFA March 10, 2015 New York Jets LS Tanner Purdum UFA March 12, 2015 New York Jets WR Greg Salas RFA May 13, 2015 Detroit Lions QB Matt Simms ERFA December 30, 2014 New York Jets QB Michael Vick UFA August 25, 2015Pittsburgh Steelers – CB Kyle Wilson UFA April 1, 2015 New Orleans Saints

Draft

2015 New York Jets Draft RD Selection Player Position College Notes 1 6 Leonard Williams Defensive end USC 2 37 Devin Smith Wide receiver Ohio St. 37082 Lorenzo Mauldin Outside linebacker Louisville 4 103 Bryce Petty Quarterback Baylor 1045 142152 Jarvis Harrison Guard Texas A&M 6 181 7 223Deon SimonDefensive tackleNorthwestern State 224229

Schedule On November 6, 2014, the NFL announced that the Jets were scheduled to visit the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium in London, England as part of the International Series. This became the first time that a divisional match has taken place in London. The game occurred on Sunday, October 4, and aired on CBS in the United States. The kickoff time was 9:30 a.m. EDT (2:30 p.m. local time). Miami is to be the designated home team for this game, and both teams will have their bye the following week.

The remainder of the Jets' 2015 schedule was announced on April 21.

Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Detroit Lions L 3–23 0–1 Ford Field Recap 2 Atlanta Falcons W 30–22 1–1 MetLife Stadium Recap 3 at New York Giants W 28–18 2–1 MetLife Stadium Recap 4 Philadelphia Eagles W 24–18 3–1 MetLife Stadium Recap

Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 13 Cleveland Browns W 31–10 1–0 MetLife Stadium Recap 2 at Indianapolis Colts W 20–7 2–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 3 September 27 Philadelphia Eagles L 17–24 2–1 MetLife Stadium Recap 4 October 4 at Miami Dolphins W 27–14 3–1 Wembley Stadium Recap 5Bye 6 October 18 Washington Redskins W 34–20 4–1 MetLife Stadium Recap 7 October 25 at New England Patriots L 23–30 4–2 Gillette Stadium Recap 8 November 1 at Oakland Raiders L 20–34 4–3 O.co Coliseum Recap 9 November 8 Jacksonville Jaguars W 28–23 5–3 MetLife Stadium Recap 10 Buffalo Bills L 17–22 5–4 MetLife Stadium Recap 11 November 22 at Houston Texans L 17–24 5–5 NRG Stadium Recap 12 November 29 Miami Dolphins W 38–20 6–5 MetLife Stadium Recap 13 December 6 at New York Giants W 23–20 7–5 MetLife Stadium Recap 14 December 13 Tennessee Titans W 30–8 8–5 MetLife Stadium Recap 15 at Dallas Cowboys W 19–16 9–5 AT&T Stadium Recap 16 December 27 New England Patriots W 26–20 10–5 MetLife Stadium Recap 17 January 3 at Buffalo Bills L 17–22 10–6 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Division

Conference

Staff New York Jets staffFront office Chairman/CEO – Woody Johnson President – Neil Glat General manager – Mike Maccagnan Director of football administration – Jacqueline Davidson Director of player personnel – Brian Heimerdinger Senior director of college scouting – Rex Hogan

Head coaches Head coach – Todd Bowles Assistant head coach/inside linebackers – Mike Caldwell

Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Chan Gailey